Container



March 21, 1944.

R. C. TAYLOR CONTAINER Filed May 28, 1941 enema Mar. 21, 1944 CONTAINER Russell 0. Taylor, Greenwich, Conn., asslgnor to American Can Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application May 28, 1941, Serial No. 395,663

1Claim.

This invention relates to fibre containers for the disrupting forces which are applied to the the packaging and delivery of liquids such as milk and the like and has particular reference to the construction of an end seam which strengthens a container and which produces a leak-proof bottom end joint. In certain respects, the present invention constitutes an improvement upon the container illustrated. and described in the John M. Hothersall Patent 2,085,979, issued July 8, 1937, and is especially an improvement on the angular neck-in bottom end joint of the Hothersall container.

In the production of rectangular fibre containers of the Hothersall type, it has been the practice as a part of such procedure to form a rigid supporting truss portion at the open ends of a tubular container body to brace the body walls against inward and outward movement. Such a truss portion also forms a part of the base of the end seam joint, the body wall being bent horizontally outward at a relatively sharp angle and then horizontally inward in spaced relation to the horizontal outward wall to provide an end closure support shoulder and receiv-- ing channel. The top and bottom end members then are firmly secured within such a receiving channel by a thermoplastic cement or other suitable adhesive which produces a strong liquidprooi joint.

Under severe mishandling, leaks have occurred in the bottom end joint of larger size containers made in accordance with the Hothersall design. These leaks have been attributed to the bottom end being partly separated at the base of the truss portion where the bottom end meets the outer curvature of the sharp angle between the obliquely inwardly bent portion of the body and the outer horizontal support.

The weight of the relatively large quantity of q d within such a container has a tendency to bow the bottom end outwardly if the filled container is placed upon a concave surface or if it is being carried about by grasping the body without regard to the unsupported bottom. The load or weight of such a liquid tends to pull the joint apart, breaks the paramn coating at the joint. and sometimes is sufficient to split the fibres of the bottom end orthe angular bent portion of the body wall. Such splits or breaks thereafter permit the liquid to leak past or around the Joint regardless of the tenacious holding power of the adhesive.

The instant invention contemplates overcoming this dii'iiculty by the formation of an angulariy bent end Joint. Such construction directs bottom end by reason of the weight of the liquid, in the direction of the web material and iongltudinally of the adhesive joint. In other words, instead of a pulling apart of the joint the forces of rupture are dissipated in the longer direction of the stock, thereby producing a stronger leak-proof joint.

An object of the invention is the provision of a sanitary fibre container for milk and other beverages having the bottom end member secured between angularly bent folds of the body, so that the resultant action of disruptive forces, due to the weight of the liquid within the con.- tainer, are directed along the extended linear surface of the material and through a greater holding area of the adhesive in the joint which secure such surfaces-together.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sealed container embodying the present invention; and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view taken substantially along a vertical plane suggested by the trace lines 2! in Fig. 1.

The container illustrated in the drawing is a preferred embodiment of the invention and briefly comprises a substantially rectangular body ll closed at its ends with suitable top and bottom closure members l2, ii. The body ll preferably is formed from a single sheet of fibrous material which is folded at right angles to provide four side walls, designated by the numeral II. The edges of the sheet are joined along one of the side walls in an overlapped vertically disposed side seam I! (Fig. 1). These seam edges are secured together with a suitable adhesive and a liquid-tight side seam results. Top and bottom end members I: and It usually are square and are formed of fibrous material. Figure 1 of the drawing shows the top closure member I2 interlocked with adjacent ends or marginal portions of the body in a suitable liquid-proof end Joint ii.

end closure member is is supported. The entreme edges of the body marginal portions are then' bent inwardly and downwardly over the outer edges of the bottom closure member thus providing opposite end flanges 22 which hold the closure member in position.

The bent parts It and II of the bodyadjacent its end and the enclosed margins of the bottom closure member I! preferably are secured with a suitable liquid-proof adhesive. The liquid-tight end seam joint thus .provided is indicated by the numeral 23. Such an angular bent joint tends to bring a marginal corner 24 on the bent part 22, into or nearer the plane of the flat bottom end An examination of the drawing will show that this construction of body and end members produces a strong end seam joint which directs any disruptive lines of force counter to a pulling apart of the wall sections thus making the joint more resistant to destruction than is the usual form.

Should the end member II due to the weight of the liquid within the sealed container be bowed.

downwardly, such weight would tend to direct the line of bow into the long dimension of the angular bend.

The crevices at the joint, designated by the numeral 28, which ordinarily would present a major weakness will not concentrate the disruptive forces in a pull-apart action. In other words, the resultant pressure acting upon this type of end will be directed along the web material and to produce a leak in th joint will have to pull the marginal bottom edges of the end member ll loose from within the receiving channel formed by the folded body portions wand 22 and along the major holding surfaces of the adhesive.

The top end member I! (Fig. 1) may be reenforced in the same way as the bottom just described. However, ordinarily this is not necessary. Such a top has a hinged closure I! attached thereto which is adjacent one corner of the container. Such a closure may be the same tlally of the body and upon which the bottom as that disclosed in the Hothersali patent heretofore referred to. Closure 28 is hinged back for the purposes of filling and dispensing, the liquid contents into and from the container. The container body ll (Fig. 2) when provided for holding aliquid is coated on all of its surfaces by a suitable liquid-proof coating 21 such as paramn or the like. This makes the nbre container parts liquid-proof.

It is thought that the invention andmany of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without-departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages. the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

A rectangular fibre container for liquids comprising a tubular fibre body and a substantially ber in-a leak-proof end seam joint, said joint be- 1 ing disposed closely adjacent and at an acute angle to said obliquely bent truss portion and angularly disposed relative to the horizontal plane of said bottom end member so as to resist tearing apart of the joint under the action of bowing of said flat end member and to direct the disruptive lines of force lengthwise of the joint and into said truss portion, thereby preventing separation of the joint parts and producing a stronger junction of body and end member.

RUSSELL c. TAYLOR. 

